[Kim Han-sol]I picture myself continuing my education after the United World College somewhere and after university hopefully I picture myself volunteering somewhere.

And after that, I would like to engage in more humanitarian projects and also work to contribute to building world peace, and especially back home because that’s a really important part of me that Koreans are really divided and that we can, if we put a little effort, thus step-by-step we can come to a conclusion and unite.

[Elisabeth Rehn] Source: LYBIO.netWelcome Kim Han-sol. It’s a pleasure to have you in my talk show. Do you know that, the reason why I want to interview a student from the United World College in Mostar, is a very strong emotion from my side for this school. But before going to that, I’m curious on your life before you were born in North Korea.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, I was born in North Korea in 1995 in Pyongyang, the capital. And that’s where I spent like the first few years before moving to Macau.

[Elisabeth Rehn]But after the family moved to Macau, you went back to North Korea several times?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, I usually visit North Korea like every summer to meet with my relatives back home, keep in touch with the families.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Were you very isolated or was it possible for you to play with other children and from all around or were you in a special situation?

[Kim Han-sol]When I was growing up, it was very isolated; first of all, to keep a very low profile. And yeah, that’s why I didn’t really have much childhood friends from North Korea and that’s why all my friends are from outside, like, such as Macau and…

[Elisabeth Rehn]Was it because of your so-called position, of course, everybody is an individual, but your grandfather was, Kim Il Jong and he was of course a very special leader in North Korea.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, that kind of – that played a big role in the isolation when I was growing up in North Korea.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Was it in someway a positive shock for you that to just find that you can be just with other children and play with them and with young people and without any kind of problems?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, it wasn’t that really a big problem getting along with friends. There were a lot of internationals in that school and that’s where it started where I wanted to really go further into the international community and get to know more about different cultures and backgrounds. Because in the – in my school in Macau where I went we had people from, like, United States, South Korea and these are countries that we have, then having a lot of conflicts with and a lot of tension. But then we turned out to be really great friends in the end and that just sparked the curiosity for me to go further into the next level and then I chose to move to United World College later on.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Did you have any kind of support, that your parents also supported you to just look for this opportunity or was it totally your own idea?

[Kim Han-sol]It was my own idea. Actually one summer just before the summer break in my last year in Macau I decided that I should leave the place and go somewhere else and for a different experience. And one of my friends showed me some brochures of United World College and that’s where it started like where – and then I applied, did, you know, all the processes and everything. And yeah, that’s where the journey starts.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, I’m very happy. I love Mostar, yeah. I like the food. The people are very nice here and yeah, very good.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Of course, I’m sitting with you here with television cameras around us. Have you been very much attacked by us who want to talk with you and by the cameras, has there been a lot of attention to you?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, that all happened when I was applying for the visa and the visa application actually got frozen after the first reporting from Croatian news media. And after a while some more paperwork and everything, we got through that and the journey to Mostar was also a huge pressure because of the medias following. And it was really, I didn’t know how to describe like the feeling, because it was for the first time ever like I had that kind of pressure and constant camera flashes and everything like that and it was just uncomfortable like for me at first.

[Elisabeth Rehn]How are you feeling about your studies here?

[Kim Han-sol]I really enjoy my time here. And it’s only been the first year here but it feels like I’ve been here for sometime. I didn’t have any problems settling down here when I arrived, everyone welcomed me.

[Elisabeth Rehn]However, are you staying in a dormitory or where are you staying?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, I’m staying in the dormitory, yeah and over there like we have all these wonderful friends from many different countries.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Many different countries?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah. My roommate is from Libya. And yeah, it was quite an interesting experience – like experience throughout the year having a Libyan roommate. And especially, the revolution, when that happened, he was really enthusiastic about it -

[Elisabeth Rehn]Yes

[Kim Han-sol]- and he was telling me many stories. He would tell me stories about what he was doing during the revolution and how he went home and saw a different Libya. The transition process of all the new Libya and then it was really interesting.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Could you say that this really is a peace-building education?

[Kim Han-sol]Yes, because of the multiculturalism that the school has and the diversity in the classrooms, it is easier for all of us to expand on our topics in the class and share our opinions on various topics. And through that I think we can come to a better understanding with no boundaries and I think, that’s a very crucial thing for building a more peaceful community and because we all have different opinions in our classrooms because of the diversity. And through that, for example, when we are in the – when we are having historical like, conflict like topics in history class, there are things that are really debatable and we can come to a common understanding in the end of the day where after those like discussing different point of views.

[Elisabeth Rehn]And here in this country, the history has – there are at least three histories of what happened of the same events depending on what part you’re represented. And I learnt during my years here starting in ’95 immediately after the fall of Srebrenica, the genocide there that you never should allow yourself to believe in only one of the stories because there is something true, true and something totally wrong in all the stories that are told. And if you can find something from all of these views on the same historic event then perhaps you can come quite close to the truth and that is what is important with discussions when there are many different opinions that are discussing together. And that is of course the method of this form of education, this United World College education that people, young people are taught to discuss. Source: LYBIO.net

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, that has been quite successful from my experience here so far. And also it’s not only in classrooms, but in the residences, we can sit down and have a chat for hours and hours about our conflicts back home.

[Elisabeth Rehn] Source: LYBIO.netYes.

[Kim Han-sol]And what kind of division in society there is back home. And from that we can come to a common understanding on many different topics. And we also realized in the end of the day – in the end of the day that we all have very similar core human values and that most of the things today are causing divisions in society through all, let’s say politics, and from – yeah, mostly political issues. And those things cause a lot of problems in many places today, for example, North Korea and South Korea. Next year we’re going to have one South Korean first year here and that’s going to be really interesting.

[Elisabeth Rehn]Is that true?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah.

■Kim Han-sol interviewed by Elisabeth Rehn (2/2)

[Elisabeth Rehn]Have you felt badly when of course there is the discussion that you are, the dynasty you are coming from that they haven’t perhaps… …being the best for the people.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, I’ve – growing up in that kind of background I had a lot of thoughts for myself and I concluded that – through meeting people, I’ve concluded that I will just take opinions from both sides, see what’s good and see what’s bad and make my own decisions and not completely siding with one side. And because I’ve had some friends from South Korea in Macau and it’s quite interesting because the two countries, they’re trying to work to build peace together for unification but at the same time their laws that say, North and South Koreans shouldn’t interact with each other even outside of Korea.

On LYBIO.net you can find - The Largest community of text-script-video blogging service. http://www.lybio.netAnd me and my South Korean friends at first it was kind of awkward when I first met them but then little-by-little we started understanding each other, again through the same classroom experience. And also sometimes we share our stories from back home and realize how similar we are, same language, same culture and then it’s just political that – political, like issues that divide the nation in half and now today we are very close friends and we travel together and it’s such a wonderful feeling.

[Elisabeth Renn]Of course the problem with the Koreas is also that all the big nations, big powers are in some way involved with taking part for that and that, and that’s definitely not making it easier. What would be very important, this of course your country could open up for more of the relief aid – aid for – because there is hunger in your country. And being a former defense minister, I must say that I’m feeling bad and sad when I’m looking at all these military parades in different countries, very much in your country, in your home country, but in many other countries too where all that money that is used for military equipment could be just to make the life easier for the population.

[Kim Han-sol]No, that was actually one thing that I wanted to – I was hoping to do before he passed away. And I was really curious myself, I mean, I can’t imagine the media – media’s curiosity.

[Elisabeth Renn]Yeah.

[Kim Han-sol]Even for me I was really curious. I never really met him or have a conversation with him but…

[Elisabeth Renn]Not even when you were a baby, he was not the kind of grandfather who took the baby in his arms and ah, wonderful, now I have a grandson.

[Kim Han-sol]Oh, yeah, I was actually waiting for him, I don’t know, until before he passed away, hoping that he will come find me because I really didn’t know if he knew that I existed.

[Elisabeth Renn]Yeah?

[Kim Han-sol]So I was really, yeah, I was really curious what kind of – I always wanted to meet my grandfather because I just wanted to know what kind of person he is and just wanted to know more about his personal things.

[Elisabeth Renn] Source: LYBIO.netYes, because we have got to the outside only the picture of the strong dictator but there is not one person that is only – only the bad side. There is also a good side in every person. As I have been so much around in this region, I have met with all of those who have given the orders and who have killed a lot of people here in this Balkan region, but I have talked with them too. And we have talked about family and we have talked about just human things, so I have always said that, there cannot be only evil and bad, that there is something good in every person too. And I can understand that the grandson wants to find out the good from his grandfather but how now the leader now, he is your uncle but a very young one. Source: LYBIO.net

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, yeah, he’s the youngest of the brothers.

[Elisabeth Renn]How come that he was the one to be appointed by his father?

[Kim Han-sol]I’m not really sure but my dad was definitely not really interested in politics.

[Elisabeth Renn]Good for him.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, and I really never met them in real life so I really don’t know how it became – how he became a dictator because first of all, it was between him and my grandfather and I haven’t met both of them so it’s also a part of the curiosity like.

[Elisabeth Renn]And your mother’s family, is it also one of the, what would I call it dynasties?

[Kim Han-sol]No, she was actually just an ordinary citizen in North Korea.

[Elisabeth Renn]Ah?

[Kim Han-sol]So, it was really easier for me to form my own opinions because I saw on both levels on a – in a family where – of the dictator and at the same time living with ordinary citizens and I’ve learnt quite a lot of things on the way.

[Elisabeth Renn]That is quite interesting, yes.

[Kim Han-sol] Source: LYBIO.netAnd my parents played a big role in supporting me and always telling me like, think about the people first before you eat that food in front of you. And yeah, and my mom always try to like encourage me to live a same lifestyle as the ordinary citizens so I can have a better understanding of the people. And my dad as well always told me just forget about the background and everything and live your life and understand everything that the people who – there is a lot of people who are hungry and always just think twice and be thankful for what you have right now.

[Elisabeth Renn]You can be very grateful to your parents that they have raised you in a way or teaching you to think yourself and that is then of course the right place you have ended up or at least temporarily with the United World College here. But when did you become aware of that, there really is a terrifying suffering of the people who don’t have food?

[Kim Han-sol]Uh-huh, yeah, actually in the – when I was growing up in North Korea I wasn’t really aware of what was going on. I actually found…

[Elisabeth Renn]You were protected from that outside.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, actually I spent sometime in my mom’s place, my mother’s side and over there it was like an ordinary house that most of the citizens, the standard was like ordinary. And, I really didn’t get to know until later on that my grandfather was a leader in Korea. So that was quite an interesting experience to find out because once I was just thinking like okay, I’ve met my grandfather from my mother’s side but who’s my grandfather, my father’s side, you know, and slowly just little-by-little through conversations that my parents had I started to put puzzles, puzzle pieces together and I – and then I realized who he was.

[Elisabeth Renn]Have you planned to go, go back when you get now your education, working for peace, all of these? Do you have dreams that you could go back to North Korea and try to do something to influence in a good way?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, of course, I’ve always dream that one day I will go back and make things better and make it easier for the people there. I also dream of unification because it’s really sad that I can’t go to the other side and see my friends over there and yeah, it’s a really sad story because my friends would say like, it would be really great to just take a bus or something, just you know to South Korea or North Korea and meet each other at some point, but that’s, that’s one of the dreams.

[Elisabeth Renn]And there must be very many families who are split, quite close families who are split within North and South and that is of course very sad for them. Do I remember rightly, correctly, that the border is opened for families; it was at least some years ago, so the families could visit each other?

[Kim Han-sol] Source: LYBIO.netYeah, they could meet each other. They were like they organize some family reunions a few years before. I’m not really sure if that’s still happening today.

[Elisabeth Renn]Tell a little bit about your future dreams because all young people have dreams?

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, for me I picture myself continuing my education after the United World College somewhere and after university hopefully I picture myself volunteering somewhere. And after that, I would like to engage in more humanitarian projects and also work to contribute to building world peace, and especially back home because that’s a really important part of me that Koreans are really divided and that we can, if we put a little effort, thus step-by-step we can come to a conclusion and unite.

[Elisabeth Renn]Certainly you can and you will do that one day. The question is of course that is the day, next week, next year or after 10 years or even more.

[Kim Han-sol]It’s not – maybe more but it’s going to be a step-by-step process and of course they cannot plan like every single day.

[Elisabeth Renn]Yeah.

[Kim Han-sol]Yeah, so.

[Elisabeth Renn]I wish you the best of luck and I must say that it has been a wonderful moment for me. I will very much like to have you as one of my grandsons but you have already your own parents. Thank you.